Door mechanism for washing machines



ay F. BALZER DOOR MECHANISM FOR WASHING MACHINES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 4, 1924 fwe/ 2/0 1 2 1 1630513 3 9 7 F. BALZER noo n MECHANISM FOR WASHING mcnnms Filed Jan.4, 1924 2 Shoots-Shoot 2 j. .55 Figure 2 is a sectional Patented May 31, 1927.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRITZ BALZER, OF MOLINE, ILLINOIS, LASSIGNOR T TROY LAUNDRY MACHINERY COMPANY, LTD., OI CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF'NEW YORK.

DOOR MECHANISM FOR WASHING MACHINES.

Application filed January. 4, 1924. Serial No. 684,291.

The present .invention relates to door mechanism for washing, machines.

It is common practice in the construction of washing machines to provide an outer 5 shell or casing which may be more or less water-tight, and which provides bearings for a cylinder rotatably mounted within said casing, which cylinder contains the goods to be washed. In order to insert and remove goods from the interior of the cylinder, it is necessary to provide a door in said cylinder, and, for the purpose of permitting access to said cylinder door, it is necessary to provide a door in the outer shell or casing. VVhen the rotary cylinder is properly positioned relatively to the casing, said doors will permit access from the exterior of the shell or casing to the interior of the rotary cylinder. It has been common practice to at provide the rotary cylinder and the enclosing shell or casing with swinging doors, this construction having been particularly com.- mon in construct-ions involving wood cylinders. Constructions of wood are necessarily If bulky and uneconomical' of space, are 'subject to wear, and are rather expensive to manufacture. An object of: the present invention is to provide a washing machine cylinder which m is economical of space, cheap to manufacture, and sturdy in construction.

A further object is to provide a sliding door for washing machine cylinders which will be economical of space.

A further object is to provide a sliding door for washing machine cylinders having means for holding said door at any desired degree of opening, within limits, which means will" prevent the inadvertent closing 4 of the door of the outer shell or casing.

A further object is to provide sliding door mechanism. for the rotary cylinder of a washing machine which is simple in construction, positive in action, and which will 4 prevent the inadvertent closing of the door of the outer shell or casing when the cylinder door is in open position.

Further objects will appear as the description proceeds.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, parts being broken away, illustrating a washing machine cylinder embodying-the principles of the present invention. I view taken along the plane indicated by the lines 22 of Figure 1, illustrating the washing machine cylinder, and also illustrating parts of the enclosing shell or casingl Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along the plane indicated by the arrows 33 of Figure 1, showing on an enlarged scale, certam latch mechanism. in cooperation with other parts of the cylinder. In this figure. the parts are shown in the position which they assume when the door of the rotary cylinder is in closed position; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the plane indicated by the arrows 44 of Figure 1, and indicates the relative positions of certain of the parts when the door of th rotary cylinder is open.

The numeral 1 indicates a rotary washing machine cylinder provided at the ends thereof with the walls 2, 2, which. provide trunnions 3, 3, for rotatably mounting said cylinder 1. The cylinder 1 may have its cylindrical wall portion composed of sheet metal which may be perforated as indicated by the numerals 4, 4:. Only a few of the perforations 4, 4: are illustrated, but it will be understood that said perforations may be provided through a large area for the purpose of permitting ingress and egress of washing medium when the cylinder is in servlce.

Referring now to Figure 2, it will be noted that the cylinder 1 is encased within an outer shell or casing 5, which may be supported by any'preferred means, not-shown. The casing 5 is provided with one or more doors-6 which slide in peripheral grooves provided for the purpose. The door 6 is shown in open position in Figure 2. In closing, said door 6 will move in a counter clockwise direction as the parts are viewed in Figure 1, to a' position such that the edge of said door will coincide withthe line marked 7-7. The details of the outer shell or casing 5 and: the door 6 form no part of 1 the present invention, and said outer shell or casing 5 and door 6 are illustrated only diagrammatically to explain the functions of certain features of the cylinder 1.

The cylinder 1, inthe embodiment illus- 1 trated in Fig. 1, is. provided with two circum'ferentially sliding ;doors '8, 8, the door at the left-hand side of Fig. 1 being shown in closed position, while the door-at the righthand side of Fig. 1 is shown open position. no

Any desired number of doors may be pro vided. The circumferential band 9 provides the external boundary of a circumferential groove for adjacent ends of sa d doors 8, 8. According to the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, the cylinder 1 is made up of a plurality of arcuate sheet metal members 10, 10 which are formed to provide baflies 11, 11 which baffles extend inwardly of the cylinder. The means for connecting the arcuate sheet metal members into the form'of a cylinder and for supporting the baflies do not form any part of the resent invention and need not be described herein. Eachof the doors 8, 8, is so mounted as to slide circumferentially of the cylinder 1, a strip 12 being provided within the band 9, which acts as a stop for side motion of either door 8,.and guides said doors in the proper manner. As will be-referred to hereinafter, each door 8 may be held in any open position by means of certain latch mechanism, as herein described. As shown in Figure 1, each of the doors 8, 8, is provided wit latch members 13, 13, at the longitudinal extremities of said, doors, said latch means 13, 13, being preferably. mounted in grooved portions or ribs 13 of the door. Said doors, as Well "as the other parts of the cylindrical wall of the cylinder 1, are preferably made of sheet metal, said doors arid the remainder of the cylinder being processed in any preferred way to resist the action of the washing medium. By reason of the ribbed construction of the doors 8, 8, the diameter ,of the moving parts may be a minimum for a given capacity of machine, inasmuch as the latch members are mounted in the grooved portions or ribs 13'. Said ribs also perform a valuable function in strengthening the doors. Moreover, since the latch members are mounted on the outside of the doors, the matter of getting at same for repairs is simplified.

Each of the latch members 13, 13, comprises a body portion 14, which serves as a mounting means and guiding means for a reciprocating bolt 15. A spring 16 is provided within the member 14 for normally biasing the bolt 15 outwardly; that is, to a projecting or latching position. A handle 17 may be provided, which handle is in the form of a lever having one of its arms engagin with the bolt 15 and the other of its arms eihaped to provide a convenient finger hold. When the spring 16 is permitted to move the bolt 15 to the limit of its outward position, the handle 17 will occupy a position within the overall dimensions of the cylinder 1. When, however, the latch 13 is .revented from moving to its fully projected position, the handle 17 will be held in projecting position.

Mounted within the band 9 is a casting 18, which has for one of its objects the provision of a mounting means for a partition 19 which may divide the cylinder 1 into two compartments longitudinally of said cylin der. The casting 18 also supports the band 9 and strip 12, and co-operates with said band 9 and strip 12 through a portion of the periphery of the cylinder to provide certain of the grooves above referred to for guiding the doors 8, 8, in their circumferential movement.

The casting 18 may be provided with oppositely placed tapered a ertures 20, 20, for receiving the tapered ends 20, 20, of bolts 15, 15, and permitting the full projection of said bolts 15,15. The end walls 2,2, may also be provided with recesses permitting the full projection of the bolts 15 of latch members placed adjacent to said end walls. Said apertures 20, 20, will be so located that when the corresponding bolts 15, 15, are projected thereinto, the doors 8, 8, Wlll be in closed position. The tapered construction of bolts 15, 15, and apertures 20, 20, is of decided ad vantage, inasmuch as when wear occurs, the tapered ends 20, 20', of bolts 15, 15, will be forced by springs 16, 16, further into tapered apertures 20 20, thereby compensating for said wear an reducing the ex ense of replacements due to wear. Inasmuc as under these conditions the handles 17, 17, will lie completel within the overall dimensions of the cylin er 1, the parts will be disposed so that the door 6 of the outer shell 5 may be closed andthe rotary cylinder set in motion. Other recesses, indicated by the numeral 21, may be provided, spaced circumferentially from the apertures 20, which permit only a partial projection of the locking bolts 15, 15. When either of the doors 8, '8, is in open position, one of the spring pressed bolts 15 on said door may be rojected into one of said recesses 21. Sai recesses 21, 21, permit only a limited projection of the locking bolts '15, 15, and prevent the corresponding handles 17 from moving to positions out of interfering relation with the casing door 6. It will be understood, of course, that the recesses 21, 21, may be omitted if desired, the pressure of springs 16, 16, against their corresponding bolts 15, 15, being sufficient to cause such a frictional engagament between said bolts 15, 15, and the walls with which they contact that the accidental closing of the doors 8, 8, is eficctual 1y prevented.

By reason of the present invention, a sliding door of relatively light weight may be had without sacrificing sturdiness, and with improved economy of space over certain constructions now in common use. The sliding cylinder door is easily operated and may b opened to any degree desired, within limits without dan er of said door accidentally moving to c osed position. Furthermore when a door is in open position, the handle 17 will be held in projected position, where by it will beimpossible to close the door 6 of the enclosing shell or casing 5. As is well known to those skilled in the art, it is common practice to provide means whereby the door in the outer shell orcasing of a rotary washing machine controls an electric circuit whereby it is impossible to start the driving motor for the rotary cylinder, unless said door 6 is in closed position. By reason of the present invention, which "preeludes the possibility of closing the door 6 while the cylinder door is opened, danger of inadvertently rotating the cylinder with the door, or doors, in' open position is obviated.

Though a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail, it will be clear that many modlfications will occur to those skilled in the art. It is intended in this patent to cover all such modifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Inawashing machine, 1n combination, a rotary cylinder and an enclosing casing therefor, said casing and said cyhnder both being provided with doors adapted to be brought into registry to permit access from the exterior of said casing to the interior of said cylinder, said cylinder door being mounted for sliding motion circumferentially of said cylinder, and having a latch member for holding same in open or closed.

position, said latch member and said cylinder being provided with coiiperating parts for holding part of said latch member, when said cylinder door is open, in a position to prevent the closing oif said casing door.

2. In a rotary cylinder, 1n combination,

sheet metal cylindrical walls, a sheet metal wardly disposed longitudinal rib, and a latch member on the outside of said door and disposed in said rib, said latch member i being provided with a spring pressed bolt and with an operating member, said cylinder and said bolt being provided with coiiperating parts adapted, when said door is in closed position, to hold said door closed and to allow said operating handle to lie within the peripheral outline of said cylinder and, when said door is open, to hold said door in open position and to hold said operating member in a position projecting beyond the peripheral outline of said cylinder.

3. In combination, a casing, a rotary cylinder mounted Within said casing, said casing and said cylinder being provided with doors adapted to be brought into registry to permit access from the exterior of said casing to the interior of said cylinder, said cylinder door being slidable circumferentially of said cylinder, and a latch member on said cylinder door, said latch member being provided with a spring pressed bolt and with an operating member, said cylinder and said bolt being provided with coiiperating parts adapted, when the cylinder door is in closed position, to hold said cylinder door closed and to allow said operating handle to lie within the peripheral outline of said cylinder, and when said door is open, to hold said cylinder door in open position and to hold said handle in a position to prevent the closing of said casing door.

Signed at Moline, Illinois, this 13th day of December, 1923.

FRITZ BALZER. 

